Marijuana News Today: Several States to Legalize Pot as the Market Continues Its Rally

Marijuana News Today

It has been a fantastic week for pot so far, and the marijuana news today is continuing that trend with gains made in both politics and on the stock market.

First, the political wins for marijuana.

Four U.S. states had the pot question featured on their ballots: Michigan, North Dakota, Missouri, and Utah.

Michigan and North Dakota were seeking full recreational marijuana legalization, while Missouri and Utah were looking to permit medical marijuana.

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Overall, it was a successful, if not perfect, day for pot stocks. Michigan, by far the biggest market among these four states, approved recreational pot, meaning it will become the 10th state to legalize recreational marijuana, alongside D.C.

Currently, 33 states have legislation permitting marijuana in one form or another, and now Missouri and Utah will be joining that number.

North Dakota, unfortunately, elected to vote against recreational pot. But all things considered, this is a small market that is typically Republican and, therefore, tends to be a little less marijuana-friendly.

Marijuana stocks, as a result of Tuesday’s elections and ballot initiatives, went up several percentage points across the board.

This is in part due to the success of three of the four marijuana ballot initiatives and is also likely due to the success of the Democrats in the Congressional elections.

While the Senate remained Republican as most projections predicted, the House turned blue.

While both parties have made progress toward accepting marijuana, the Democrats are certainly ahead of the curve when it comes to pot.

As such, their victory in the House could potentially push the federal agenda for cannabis legalization ahead by leaps and bounds.

While the issue has yet to gain widespread political momentum (mostly due to the fact that the news cycle has been busy reporting on the myriad other political developments in the U.S.), there is definitely a concerted push by several key Democratic Party members to draft federal marijuana legislation.

Without the Senate and presidency on board, however, there is no way that marijuana legislation can be passed without bipartisan cooperation (something that is becoming increasingly rare in these politically fraught times).

Still, even if the Democratic majority proposes legislation that is doomed to die on the Senate floor, these early attempts at reform are going to be integral to get the ball rolling on what is inevitable at this point: marijuana legalization across the U.S.

And even if cooperation on marijuana between parties is unlikely, it’s not impossible. There is a good number of Republican senators who are keen on seeing marijuana legalized, or at least relaxing the prohibition. Not least among them is President Donald Trump who, despite waffling on the issue several times, has come out as pro-marijuana legalization at times.

And the faster we see marijuana legalized in the U.S., the faster pot stocks will soar as the largest market in the world opens up.

Tilray Stock

Political gains weren’t the only victories for the marijuana industry, with pot stocks registering strong performances this morning.

Tilray Inc (NASDAQ:TLRY) was up about four percent in early-morning trading, alongside a number of other marijuana stocks benefiting from yesterday’s electoral results. This continues what has been a very strong week for marijuana stocks, with TLRY stock having jumped by about 17% over the past five days.

I had predicted that we were in store for a longer correction in the market following the massive gains in August.

While it’s still not certain that we’ve avoided a prolonged pullback, we’ve seen sustained gains over the past week that make me believe we potentially may have exited the pullback far earlier than I had anticipated.

It’s still early, but if these gains keep up going into next week, then it’s safe to say that a downward trend has been averted (for now).

That being the case, Tilray stock will likely return to its volatile ways, making it one of the more intriguing plays in the marijuana sector, even if it carries with it a higher degree of risk.

Hexo Stock

While Tilray stock is a riskier option among marijuana stocks, Hexo Corp (OTCMKTS:HYYDF, TSE:HEXO) is likely to be one of the more surefire picks in the cannabis industry.

Hexo stock was up about four percent in early-morning trading and has gained about 20% over the past five days.

What makes Hexo stock so appealing is how much potential there is left in this marijuana penny stock.

Despite having strong fundamentals, like supply agreements with many of Canada’s largest provinces (including a five-year deal with Quebec) and a strong global presence, Hexo stock has remained relatively uncelebrated.

While Hexo’s unheralded nature has cost it in the marijuana stock market by curtailing gains somewhat, things will likely pay off in the long term. The company has a ton of potential for stock price growth, whereas competitors like Tilray have seen their greatest periods of growth come and go.

Couple this potential with the Hexo stock ‘s move to the New York Stock Exchange in December and the possible return of a bull market, and you have a company with the ability to win big in the coming months.

TLRY & HYYDF Stock Performances

The TLRY stock (black line) and HYYDF stock (blue line) performances from the past week are seen on the chart below:

Analyst Take

As is often the case, politics has played a big role in the performance of marijuana stocks. The marijuana news today features electoral results that, for the most part, favor the future of the cannabis industry.

With several more U.S. states adding marijuana legislation to the books, and the cannabis stock market looking particularly bullish as of late, it’s a great time to be a marijuana investor.